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  • Jun 9th, 2005
  • Comments Off on Kashmiri leaders may drop call for plebiscite
In a major departure from their more than five-decade old stance, the visiting Kashmiri leaders on Wednesday said they were no more sticking to the implementation of United Nations resolutions on Kashmir dispute rather looking for 'alternatives' to attain durable peace. Speaking at a packed news conference, the visiting delegation head Mirwaiz Umar Farooq conceded that the UN resolutions calling for a plebiscite on the long-running dispute are out of context.

The remarks by Kashmiri leadership came a day after marathon meeting between the visiting delegation and President General Pervez Musharraf.

Flanked by Federal Information Minister, Sheikh Rashid and Minister of State, Anisa Zeb Tahirkhaili, the moderate Hurriyat leader maintained they could not wait to see the killing of another one hundred thousands Kashmiris in the quest of getting UN resolutions implemented.

"It is time to move ahead and let us explore other alternatives," Umar Farooq said categorically in presence of other Kashmiri leaders except Yasin Malik, who was not present.

Mirwaiz said they reached this logical conclusion by seeing the track record of the UN with regard to implementing its decisions. "We have the examples of Palestine and many other issues where the UN has failed to get implemented its resolutions," he argued.

Umer Farooq said even the APHC manifesto gave them the leverage to explore alternatives along with the implementation of UN resolutions.

To a query, he said they discussed 'all possible options' aimed at resolving the long festering dispute with General Musharraf, without specifying further details.

"There are all sorts of options currently being discussed and our discussions with the President focused on at least three proposals," he revealed.

When asked to unveil the proposals, Mirwaiz insisted the discussions were preliminary in nature and nothing was finalised yet. "It is not that Pakistan and Kashmiris have to decide as much depends on how India reacts to the alternative options," he continued.

He also acknowledged the occupied Kashmir armed struggle was greatly hurt by the post-9/11 scenario, urging fighting Kashmiris to allow the political leadership to decide their fate.

Umer Farooq said the political leadership of occupied Kashmir would urge the supporters of armed-struggle to review their policy and help them in finding the final settlement.

Describing the visit as a sign of hope for Kashmiris, Mirwaiz contended their tour had enabled them to understand Pakistan's point of view and they were going back with great satisfaction that Islamabad was moving in the right direction.

Their visit should also be seen as a step towards the inclusion of Kashmiris in the ongoing dialogue process, he observed.

During their meeting with President Musharraf, they discussed mechanism for involving the Kashmiris in the peace process, he said, adding they proposed triangular dialogue for this purpose.

"Lets begin a triangular dialogue where Kashmiris talk to Pakistan and Pakistan talk to India and India talk to Kashmiris," he suggested. There was clear understanding between Kashmiris and Pakistan that there can not be compromise on two issues-one the status quo and the other to convert the Line of Control into an international border.

Asked to comment on differences within the Hurriyat leadership, the Chairman APHC acknowledged the fact but insisted in a democratic system such things were not unusual.

About the impact of Indian opposition leader L K Advani's resignation, Mirwaiz was of the view that the development showed a change in the attitude of BJP leadership, who was once considered hard-liners.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2005


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